Sandro Botticelli

Botticelli Botticelli, who's real name is Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, is known as one of the great master artists of Florence Italy during the renaissance period. Botticelli was born in Florence around 1444. He was the youngest of eight children, but only four survived to adulthood (Lightbown15). The Filipepi family was well off financially and Botticelli's father Mariano gave him an education that was normal for boys of his social class at the time. Although Botticelli was very quick to learn the things he was being taught in school he showed a great hatred towards studying. Botticelli's father was becoming impatient with his son at this point due to the lack of ambition that Botticelli was continuously displaying towards his schoolwork and pretty much everything else. In despair he handed the young Botticelli over to a master goldsmith hoping that his son might find an interest in the art.

A definition of depilated Beauty: The Birth of Ven...

Plaque, dated 1510, for the family tomb of Mariano...

[ B ] Sandro Botticelli - Last Miracle and the Dea...

Botticelli was not interested but he did gain something out of the experience that would greatly impact the rest of his life.

While working for the goldsmith Botticelli made contact with some painters and through them he finally discovered his true career. After speaking with these artists he told his father that he intended to devote his entire life to art (Streeter). After hearing his son's enthusiasm his father quickly transferred his son over to a painter by the name of Fra Filippo Lippi. Botticelli was sixteen when he went into apprenticeship under Lippi; this was rather late for a man to be starting a career during this time.

Botticelli was very fortunate in his teacher. Fra Filippo was the last of the older generation of painters. He belonged to the Idealistic, as opposed to the Naturalistic school and had not been influenced by the current trend of scientific...